Glass Animals

Glass Animals only released their album debut Zaba earlier this month, but one look at the album cover—shadowy illustration of a purple anteater and wild jungle creatures lurking amidst an exotic wilderness backdrop—gives the viewer a pretty detailed indication of the Oxford hypnotronic band's plush, rich, velvety sound. Echoes of Nina Simone, Portishead, and, fittingly, UK electronic dance band Jungle, create the experience of floating on The African Queen, or of listening to Heart of Darkness if the novel were an album instead. Despite half of their lyrics floating in a viscous puddle of literary references or unintelligible terms of endearment, the grooves are smooth and Zaba is one of this year's most striking debuts. Their live performance should be a hypnotizing adventure too, even if it is through a man-made wilderness.
Mon., July 7, 9 p.m., 2014